LOS ANGELES - The ninth-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 16-6 in the first of two games at the UCLA Invitational at Spieker Aquatics Center Saturday. The Tritons then fell to the host and defending national champion, No. 1 UCLA, by a final score of 18-6 in the second game.
The Tritons are now 3-3 on the season. After the loss to UCSD, CMS fell to 2-4. UCLA improved to 3-0 with the victory over the Tritons.
Game One – No. 9 UCSD 16, CMS 6
UCSD limited CMS to one goal in the first half and nine different players scored in the game as the Tritons defeated the Stags, 16-6. UCSD got off to a fast start by scoring six times, including two from Tyler Mancuso, and shut out the Stags in the opening quarter.
"When you come out and score six in the first, it definitley puts out a statement," said Triton head coach Denny Harper.
Mancuso found the back of the cage again in the second period to complete his hat trick and four other goals in the frame gave UCSD a 10 point lead going into halftime.
The Stags tried to mount a comeback in the third quarter, outscoring the Tritons 4-3, with one of the UCSD goals coming from Chase Cockerill to complete his own hat trick. The Tritons were able to limit CMS to one score in the fourth frame to take a 16-6 victory.
Mancuso led all players in the game with five goals. Cockerill added three and Nassim Hmeidan had two. Goalie Jack Turner amassed six saves in three quarters of play. Sam Thompson came in relief for Turner in the fourth and got four saves. Ryan Newman had four saves for the Stags.
Game Two – No. 1 UCLA 18, No. 9 UCSD 6
Top-ranked UCLA was too much for No. 9 UCSD, as the Tritons fell 18-6. The Bruins opened up the game by scoring seven times in the opening period and limiting UCSD to just one, a power play goal by Nick Alexander. UCLA outscored the Tritons 4-2 in the second quarter, to go into halftime with an 11-3 lead.
The Tritons scored three times in the third frame, including two on six-on-five situations from Cockerill and Andy Moore. However, the Bruins were able to get five goals to take a 10-point lead going into the final period.
UCSD was shut out in the fourth period and UCLA scored twice to end the game at 18-6. Four of the Triton scores came on power play goals.
"The bright spot for us was being able to score on six-on-five against the number-one team in the nation," said Harper.
Cockerill led UCSD with two goals and Turner compiled nine saves.
Gordon Marshall led the Bruins with a game-high five goals and a total of 12 players scored for UCLA. Garrett Danner and Alex Wolf split duties at goalie for the Bruins and combined for five saves.
"Their front core offense is the best in the NCAA," Harper said. "(UCLA center) Gordon Marshall was just too big, too strong and too experienced."
For their next contest, the Tritons will play their first Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) matchup on Thursday, Sept. 17 on the road against Fresno Pacific at 7 p.m. UCSD will then travel to Stanford for the NorCal Tournament on Sept. 19-20.
GAME ONE
UCSD 6 5 3 2 - 16
CMS 0 1 4 1 - 6
Goals
UCSD: Tyler Mancuso 5, Chase Cockerill 3, Nassim Hmeidan 2, Cole Martinez 1, Tiki Toplak 1, Andy Moore 1, Jacob Castro 1, Kevin Asplund 1, Jimmy LeBeau 1
CMS: Adam Hillborn 1, Alex Waggoner 1, Peter Tilton 1, Tanner Cullen 1, Noah Deer 1, Eric Bakar 1
Saves
UCSD: Jack Turner 6, Sam Thompson 4
CMS: Ryan Newman 4
GAME TWO
UCSD 1 2 3 0 - 6
UCLA 7 4 5 2 - 18
Goals
UCSD: Chase Cockerill 2, Nick Alexander 1, Cole Martinez 1, Andy Moore 1, Nassim Hmeidan 1
UCLA: Gordon Marshall 5, James Robinson 2, Patrick Woepse 2, Ryder Roberts 1, Austin Rone 1, Warren Snyder 1, Patrick Fellner 1, Jack Grover 1, Max Irving 1, Kent Inoue 1, Joey Fuentes 1, Spencer Farrar 1
Saves
UCSD: Jack Turner 9
CMS: Garrett Danner 2, Alex Wolf 3
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